Seven Podcasts to Add to Your iTunes Feed

By Gini Dietrich

On the seventh day of Christmas, Spin Sucks gave to you… seven must-listen podcasts, six communicator gifts, five communications trends, four free webinars, three strategy games, two Crazies secrets, and the PR win of 2014.

There have been lots of predictions that 2015 is going to be the year of the podcast. Because I’ve been co-hosting one for years now, I like the sound of that.

Therefore, I bring you the seven podcasts you must add to your iTunes feed to laugh, learn, and live.

Seven Must-Listen Podcasts

1. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! This NPR-produced (and Chicago-based) podcast is hosted by Peter Segal and Bill Kurtis and has a panel of three or four comedians. They take the news from the week and create games, contests, and pure hilarity. If you’re not into watching or reading the news, but still want to keep up on current events, this is a very entertaining way to do it.
2. The Friday Five. The Friday Five is hosted and produced by Tom Webster and “discovers the music DNA of interesting people.” Season two launched last week with Scott Monty and is sure to be full of lots of entertaining facts, tidbits, and music. You’ll even get to discover my teenager music tendencies at some point this season.
3. For Immediate Release. Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson talk about the events of the week, as they relate to communications, host experts, and do book reviews. If you need to know what’s going on in the world of PR, this is the one to listen to every week.
4. Media Bullseye Roundtable. Hosted by Chip Griffin of CustomScoop, this podcast is a little bit irreverent and a lot informative. With guests such as Kevin Anselmo, Mark Story, Doug Haslam, and other leaders in the communications industry, Chip tackles the tough topics with a wicked twinkle in his eye (which you can’t see because it’s radio, but you’ll see what I mean).
5. Marketing Smarts. The MarketingProfs podcast is hosted by smartie Kerry Gorgone, who prepares for each interview like no one I’ve ever seen. What you’ll get from this podcast is an in-depth interview because Kerry doesn’t scan material; she actually—gasp!—reads it. It’s not superficial or boring.
6. Six Pixels of Separation. Of course my social media boyfriend, Mitch Joel, should be on this list. Having been a guest of his a couple of times now, I can hands-down tell you he’s one of the toughest interviews I’ve ever had. He’s wicked smart so you’re automatically intimidated, but he does his homework and he asks questions differently than everyone else. Both of these things make for an excellent podcast, which will start your week off right.
7. Inside PR. Inside PR is co-hosted by Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and me. We talk about everything from current events, crisis communications, social media, reputation management, and where it all meets and intersects. We’re talking about plans for 2015 now so look for new and improved content after the holidays.

Now it’s your turn. Which podcasts would you add to the list?